Flight of the month for December went to new pilot, Arjan de Kock, for his first XC flight at Dasklip. A really special moment for any soaring pilot. Well done!

Arjan's story:It’s
Saturday afternoon and I’m at a climbing competition in Cape Town. This is
supposed to be my element but I look around the plastic walls and people that
came here to compete. I feel completely un-inspired... its hot... climbing
walls is a futile pursuit & I’m drained from driving countless hours
from Namibia... Trying to keep face, I try engaging in this madness, but I end
up wasting my time... clearly my energy was directed elsewhere!

I
had made a "date" to fly Porterville with Grove and Adam on Sunday,
and I was completely psyched on the idea of "big sky"!!! After many
grueling heat-stroked thermal hunting flights in Namibia I was getting
desperate for some known-thermal-spots... So there we were rigging on takeoff...
perfect situation... two Porterville Boffs, straight West wind, cumulus popping
in the sky, and a new U2!!!Standing on
takeoff, Grove & Adam gave me the complete lowdown on how to fly the spot
safely, they decided to send me off first "for my safety", but most
importantly as a wind dummy as they both turkey'd here last session... So I
scratched and scratched but couldn't stay up and turkey'd! With the others now
a tad hesitant on conditions, they waited another 45min before launching as I
de-rigged in a rush!

Driving
back up for another shot I was graced by the sight of them sharing a thermal
after takeoff and slowly climbing up above the ridge! With such a sight
set for my second launch I was amped to take off and find myself one of those
elevators in the sky! Launching in a strong cycle I shot up as I ran off
the ramp getting some nice height, I flew on only to find myself in a bit of a
lull. Getting really really low running down the ridge I learnt one of my most
valuable lessons in freeflight... get high and stay high! Luckily I hooked
one from low and climbed up to a decent 2000m AGL, I was stoked! This is how it
feels to ride up in a fat, multi-cored thermal!

I
scoped the ridge for the others but didn't see a spec, I was winging this one
and seeing what happens, knowing the obvious route is the N7. So I climbed and
sank... climbed and sank... until I was in a fat one climbing at close to 7m/s
to cloud base, drifting East over the ridge! By now the sky was filled
with Cumi's and I knew there was only one thing left to do... try fly to
Namibia... With the wind from the NW I was not making good ground, but I
pressed on, by the time I hit Citrusdal I was only 1000mAGL, doubting If I was
going to see another thermal again, I pressed on to the ridge with obvious cell
tower, thinking its a text book trigger. Like clockwork I flew over and
found another bomb that took me to over 2000m, I spotted Grove ahead... but
very low! Unsure if he had landed cause of strong winds, or running out of
lift, I took out my phone and started phoning Adam...

Having
quite some troubles flying the glider with one hand and taking with another (no
headset) and trying to hear something with the wind noise, I decided to just
fly on and see what happened, flying toward constriction the pumping NW wind
was a clear indication why Grove had landed where he did. I turned and ran back
toward Grove, arriving quite high I had a massive need to urinate and nothing
better to do, I found a nice mellow thermal, unzipped and had one of the best
hang loose releases ever (downwind from Grove of course)!!! I dove around the
sky with all the altitude I had, trying some steep turns and some pathetic
attempts at wingovers. I circled down to just to spot a falcon in the field
climbing up in a nice core.... I couldn't resist sharing this with him! I
banked and got right in the same core, but going the opposite direction we
almost connected mid air with the bird diving out at the last moment!

After
3hours of flying & seeing Grove on the ground I decided to pick a spot next
to him on my return to earth, I came in in the most hectic turbulence I've had
to put a glider down in, 25km/h winds turning over 4pm thermic air, it was a
nice wrestle. Keeping wings level, I landed next to him with Adam and Bradley
also in the field.

Another
fantasy has turned into reality... I no longer dream of flying, I feel it...
I've lived it!